


She's Never Gonna Leave My Mind

by justyrae



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, F/F, Genderswap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-03-30 17:40:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3945754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justyrae/pseuds/justyrae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn's built her life work through photographing pretty girls, so why is it she's so strung out on one in particular?</p>
            </blockquote>





	She's Never Gonna Leave My Mind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Star55](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star55/gifts).



> the prompt was "Model AU where one is a famous model, the other is either not famous or could be famous in another field. Maybe their relationship is strained because of the distance but they make it work because they love each other." I followed the first part??
> 
> many thanks to my excellent team of betas/cheerleaders/saviors, I'm nothing without you <3
> 
> title from "Where We Belong" by Brighten

To Zayn, it's just another day. She wakes up thanks to an alarm that was set far too early for her liking, but she gets up anyway. Liam's already waiting for her in the kitchen with a cup of hot tea and a smile on her face. As Zayn shuffles forward and slumps down in a chair across from Liam, she attempts to crack something resembling a smile in return.

"I would've thought you'd be used to this by now," Liam teases mildly as she taps her fingers on her own cup of tea.

"I would've thought as an _artist_ I'd get to pick my own schedule by now," Zayn replies before blowing gently at her tea to cool it down. Her eyes dart around the kitchen, seeing it suspiciously cleaner than it was when she went to bed last night. "Did you clean again?"

Liam shifts nervously and drops her gaze down to the counter, her cheeks going pink as Zayn laughs softly.

"I told you, being my assistant doesn't include cleaning up after me."

"I don't mind," Liam assures her, just like always. "Besides, Louis said--"

"How many times do I have to tell you," Zayn interrupts, "never listen to a thing Louis says."

"But Harry agreed." Liam frowns.

"Harry will agree with anything Louis says." Zayn laughs again. "You should know that by now."

Liam's frown deepens and Zayn reaches out to take Liam's hand in her own and squeezes it gently. Her frown recedes into a smile slowly as she squeezes Zayn's hand back.

"You'll learn how to deal with Lou eventually," Zayn goes on, "everyone does."

Liam nods as she slips her hand out of Zayn's to look at her watch. "You should get ready, we've got to be going soon."

"Alright," Zayn says with a sigh before drinking more tea. "Did you find that lens I was talking about yesterday?"

"Yep, it's in your bag already." Liam smiles. "I've got everything under control, all you have to do is go get dressed and then we're all ready to go."

"What would I do without you, Liam?"

"You'd have to keep better track of your lenses," Liam replies as she steals Zayn's cup out of her grasp, effectively forcing Zayn to go get dressed.

The one thing Zayn is most grateful for with her job that she's on the opposite end of her camera and therefore never really has to care about what she looks like. Granted, she's been labeled one of the least fashion-forward photographers in the industry when it comes to her style, but given that it's usually said by designers who have sticks up their arses Zayn doesn't care one bit. She'd much rather be comfortable and be able to move around easily than be _fashionable_ any day.

She slips on a pair of leggings and her favorite oversized jumper, putting on barely any makeup at all and tying her hair back so it's half up and half down. With any luck, she'll make it through at least an hour of the shoot before Louis finds some way to mess with her hair.

Thankfully, Zayn's worked with both Louis and Harry so many times that nothing they do is really surprising to her anymore. She laughs when she thinks about their first shoot together and how she'd become so frustrated with Louis that she actually left the studio in the middle of it just to cool off. Harry had been the one to find her, apologizing profusely for Louis' behavior and practically _begged_ Zayn not to cancel the rest of the shoot.

"She's just nervous," Harry had assured Zayn, "she'll be better now, honest."

"Alright, alright." Zayn sighed, reluctantly following Harry back inside. "But I swear, if she knocks over anything else, I'll smack her silly."

"She might like that," Harry mumbled under her breath.

Despite the familiarity Zayn now had with the two of them, she was feeling a little bit of nerves about the day's impending shoot. Not only were her pictures of Nick Grimshaw's new line going to be part of a feature in Vogue, but she was going to be working with an entirely new model as well.

She's spent days looking at past shoots that feature Niall Horan, the new up-and-coming model that everyone in the fashion world has just fallen in love with. Zayn has tried, but she just doesn't get it. Looking at her photos, Zayn doesn't see anything particularly special.

Niall's built a little stockier than most of the models Zayn's worked with, and she doesn't understand how Niall's figure is going to work with Nick's designs. However, it's never been Zayn's place to argue about these sorts of things, so she plans on keeping her mouth shut unless it simply doesn't work.

"Ready?" Liam asks, beaming widely when Zayn finally emerges from her room.

"Yep," Zayn says as she slips her bag onto her shoulder, patting the outside pocket and frowning. "Wait, d'you know where--"

"Your mobile?" Liam asks.

"Yeah," Zayn replies with a sheepish laugh. "Seem to have lost it again."

"No worries, I've got it." Liam holds up Zayn's mobile in her hand and laughs. "I saw it between the couch cushions earlier and grabbed it."

"What were you doing--" Zayn turns towards the living room before thinking better of it and shaking her head, "never mind. Let's get on with it, yeah?"

"After you," Liam says as she opens the front door, smiling at Zayn as she passes.

Even with morning traffic, the drive isn't long enough for Zayn to squeeze in a nap. Even if it was, she suspects that Liam wouldn't have let her fall asleep, especially with the way Liam kept chattering away as she drove.

Zayn didn't really mind, it was endearing how Liam still got excited about every shoot they went to. It wasn't that Zayn didn't enjoy her job so much as it was she never really displayed her excitement in the way that Liam did. Besides, if Zayn was going to pick a favorite part of her job as a whole, it would probably be the time spent going over her photos after the shoot is done. Liam says it's because it's the one time she can get away with being antisocial, but nobody really listens to Liam.

"Here we are!" Liam says brightly as the car pulls up to a familiar building. Zayn glances up at it through the window and heaves a sigh before she opens her door, climbing out onto the sidewalk and heaving her bag onto her shoulder.

"Is Nick going to be here?" Zayn asks as she and Liam step through the front door and walk towards the lift. Liam hums to herself and takes out her phone, scrolling for a few seconds before she replies.

"Don't think so, but you know Nick. Always popping up where he shouldn't be."

"He thinks that's part of his charm," Zayn answers with a smirk, earning a nudge from Liam as they step onto the lift.

The peace and quiet of the first floor is eradicated as soon as the doors of the lift open on the floor with the studio; there's a mass of people all running around as though everything's already gone wrong. Zayn and Liam look at each other with the same apologetic look before they join the chaos, both with a different agenda for calming things down.

Liam handles the task of getting everything back into some semblance of order, usually by trying (and failing) to order people around. It's not really her fault, it's hard to take her seriously with her big brown eyes that are less 'do what I say' and more 'c'mon don't make me do this on my own'.

Zayn busies herself with getting her own equipment set up; she just doesn't trust anyone else to do it properly. At the same time, she's directing the designers of the shoot set to rearrange things to how they were _supposed_ to be according to the designs she'd seen the week before.

"Honestly," she mutters to herself, "you'd think this was their first shoot."

"Zayn!"

That's the only warning she gets before a body is launched onto her back, nearly knocking her to the floor as Louis' cackle resonates in her ears.

"Get off me, Lou," Zayn grumbles, resisting the urge to elbow Louis in the stomach as she slides off her back.

"Where've you been? We've been here for ages," Louis whines as Harry comes up behind her and smiles at Zayn.

"Lovely to see you again."

"You too," Zayn replies, "can you keep her in line today, please?"

"I'll try," Harry mumbles as Louis interrupts loudly.

"You know full well nobody can control me!"

"Yeah, I know," Zayn mumbles through a smile. "Honestly, it's a wonder you still get any work at all."

"People love me," Louis replies proudly. "Don't they, Harry?"

"They do," Harry answers with a shrug, "dunno why."

"You hag!" Louis says with a gasp, pinching Harry roughly before she turns on her heel and runs off to torment someone else. Harry frowns as she rubs the spot Louis pinched before taking off in the same direction, leaving Zayn alone again with an amused smile.

Liam pops up by Zayn's side not too long after, slightly winded but still smiling. Plus she's got two hot cups of tea in her hand which reminds Zayn yet again why Liam is her favorite person in the world.

"Ready?" she asks as she passes one cup to Zayn.

"Think so," Zayn replies, shrugging one shoulder. "Lou and Haz are here but the other one?"

"Niall," Liam prompts.

"Yeah, haven't seen her. D'you know if she's around?"

Liam frowns and looks all around as Zayn takes a careful sip of her tea.

"Dunno," she decides finally. "S'pose I'll have to ask around. She should've been here by now."

"You'd like to think that," Zayn mumbles under her breath. She's worked with enough models now to know that some simply cannot be trusted to be anywhere on time, even though their jobs depend on it. If she had a pound for every time she had to wait around, well, she'd have made far more money by that than her actual photographs.

By the time Liam comes back with confirmation that Niall is, in fact, there and in the process of getting her makeup done, Zayn has already started directing Harry and Louis around the set. To make matters slightly worse, Nick showed up to give his two cents on how his clothes should be photographed.

"Nick, I'm not going to ask you again," Zayn says with a sigh, rolling her eyes as she has to put her camera down _again_ to drag Nick out of the shot.

"M'just giving you my expert advice, love."

Both Harry and Louis start giggling as Zayn continues pulling Nick away until he's behind her - where he belongs - and out of the corner of her eye, she sees Liam stifling her own giggles.

"I expect better from you," Zayn mutters, unable to keep from smiling at her. Liam hides behind her own hands for a second before grinning at Zayn. "Lou's a bad influence on y--"

Zayn's voice gives out when Niall steps out from behind Liam, and her mind goes absolutely blank.

"What's the craic?" she says, smiling brightly as she walks over to join Harry and Louis. They immediately start teasing her about having taken so long to get ready, meanwhile Zayn's still frozen in place.

"Zayn?" Liam leans forward to nudge her, snapping her out of whatever spell she was under and Zayn swallows harshly.

"What? Yeah, I'm--" Zayn laughs nervously. "M'fine."

"Uh-huh," Liam says slowly, giving Zayn a strange look as she walks back to where she'd left her camera.

"I'm fine," she repeats in a low mumble, shaking her head as she bends down to pick up her camera. When she looks up again, all eyes are on her and she can feel herself turning bright red. "What?"

"Nothing," Harry answers, immediately starting to giggle again. Louis joins in but Niall ducks her head down almost shyly, hiding her smile from Zayn.

"Just…" Zayn shook her head again, pointedly ignoring their giggles getting louder, "just stand there and look pretty."

"Always do," Louis replies with a smirk.

By the end of the day, Zayn has been red more often than not, and she genuinely hates the sound of Harry and Louis' laughter. Liam's the only one she can count on - mainly because she's the only one who isn't teasing her.

Not that Niall really was, Zayn reminds herself with a sigh as she packs up her camera. Niall seemed oblivious as to _why_ Harry and Louis were laughing, but it didn't stop her from laughing along with them. Zayn had been mesmerized by the sound, which only made matters worse.

"Ready to call it a day?" Liam asks as she takes Zayn's bag from her, slinging it over her shoulder despite Zayn's wordless protest.

"Absolutely," Zayn replies with a deep sigh. "I just want to go to _bed_."

"And you will," Liam laughs, "but first, we've got to get you home."

"What did I ever do to deserve an assistant like you?" Zayn asks as she curls her arms around Liam's waist, leaning into her as they walk towards the lift.

"Dunno," Liam replies as she wraps her arm around Zayn's shoulder. "But while we're on the subject, I wouldn't say no to a raise…"

"Get me home and we'll talk about it," Zayn mumbles, closing her eyes as the lift doors do the same.

*

The problem is, Zayn can't sleep. She's been home for hours, she's been curled up in her bed for most of those hours, but she cannot fall asleep.

It's driving her mad.

Around two in the morning, she pulls herself out of bed and shuffles into her studio with her duvet wrapped around her shoulders. Her camera bag from the day before is already in there thanks to Liam, and Zayn lets out a long breath as she starts unpacking it and plugging it into her computer.

She glanced at her photos during the shoot like normal, but the real work comes after everyone else goes home and Zayn is left to her own devices.

As she waits for the photos to transfer, Zayn cracks her neck and settles into her chair. She distractedly watches the previews flash by one by one, catching glimpses of Niall's smile more often than not. She leans forward, staring intently at the screen once all the photos finish loading, and her jaw drops.

Nearly every single picture she took was either of Niall or heavily featured Niall.

Sure, there were a few shots at the beginning when it had just been Louis and Harry, but Zayn can't help but slide under her desk with a long groan as she thinks back on all the teasing they'd done. She didn't think she'd been that bad, but as the pictures proved… it was all true.

The thing is, Zayn can't stop looking at them. Every notion she'd had about Niall before this shoot had disappeared from her mind. She can't help but smile every time Niall's smiling in a photo; she hears the echo of Niall's laughter in her mind and it warms her heart.

Zayn doesn't mean to stay up all night. She certainly doesn't mean to ignore her phone all day in favor of organizing the photos from the shoot, saving each and every one of Niall to one of her spare USB drives for safe-keeping.

But because she's a professional, she also takes the time to pick out the ones she'll be sending to the magazine. It's a little half-assed and she tries to get it done as quickly as possible so she can get back to editing her (now personal collection of) photos of Niall, but at least she gets it done.

When Liam comes knocking on her door two days later, Zayn has slept maybe twelve hours since the shoot. She's a little scatterbrained, a little manic, but most of all, she's a lot in love.

"What've you been doing, cooped up in here by yourself?" Liam teases lightly as she sits down in the spare chair Zayn keeps in her studio. Liam's the only one who ever sits in it, mainly because Liam's the only one Zayn's ever allowed in her studio.

"Nothing," Zayn answers quickly, dodging Liam's gaze. "Y'know, working."

"Working, or nothing?" Liam asks with a bit of a smirk. "It's one or the other, silly."

"Working," Zayn confirms. She clicks on the folder full of photos from the shoot, clicking through them rapidly to prove her point. "See?"

"Have you got them sorted for the magazine?"

"Yeah," Zayn says as she reaches around to the back of her computer, feeling around for the USB drive that's plugged in. She tugs it out and tosses it to Liam before she lets out a long sigh. "Take care of that, alright?"

"I'll take it over straightaway." Liam brandishes it for a moment before she tucks it safely in her bag and smiles at Zayn. "Get some sleep, yeah? We've got another shoot coming up next week."

"Yeah, alright." Zayn sighs again. "I'm a bit knackered."

"You look it," Liam says as she stands up, taking a good look around Zayn's studio. "When's the last time you ate anything?"

"I had a biscuit," Zayn replies, avoiding Liam's eye again as she struggles to remember when she actually had that biscuit.

"I'm ordering you some takeaway," Liam says with a huff as she pulls out her phone. "You're going to eat it all, and then you're going to bed. Got it?"

"Yes, Mum." Zayn rolls her eyes but smiles at Liam and follows her out of the studio.

*

Zayn celebrates the completion of her project the way she normally does - with sleep.

Sure, when Liam left her flat she might've spent a bit more time clicking through her pictures of Niall - mostly because she saved her favorites to her desktop - but when she's struggling to keep her eyes open she finally admits to herself that she _needs_ to go to sleep.

She manages to fall asleep quite easily, and then _stays_ asleep for nearly a whole day. When she wakes up the first time, she gets out of bed long enough to use the loo, grab a snack, and then she crawls back under her blankets and intends to sleep for another day or so.

Unfortunately, she only manages another few hours of sleep before she's woken up by her phone ringing incessantly. She tries her best to ignore it, but even on silent the buzzing is so loud that she just has to answer it.

"Liam," she whines, "you're the one who told me to _sleep_! I'm _sleeping_!"

"I know, but Zayn, we've got a _huge_ problem."

Zayn sits up in her bed, rubbing her eyes furiously as she tries to focus on clearing her sleep-addled brain. Liam sounds frantic enough that Zayn is already worried far more than she wants to be.

"What problem?"

"You've got to come down to the magazine. Nick's pitching an absolute _fit_."

"Of course," Zayn replies with a tired groan. "Stupid man," she grumbles as she pulls herself out of bed and starts rooting around for some proper clothes.

"I'll explain everything when you get here," Liam promises. "As soon as you can, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah," Zayn mumbles, ending the call and tossing her phone onto her bed. A million and one thoughts are swirling about her mind, each one less pleasant than the next. If Nick's issue bad enough that Liam can't handle it herself then Zayn knows she's in for a particularly long day.

Liam manages to corner Zayn as soon as she steps off the lift, but Zayn can already hear Nick shouting in another part of the office. Truth be told, she could hear him through the lift as soon as she got within three floors of the office. He's very loud when he's upset.

"What's got Nick's knickers in a twist?" Zayn asks with a sigh as Liam pulls her into a conference room and shuts the door.

"These," Liam replies as she gestures to the mock-ups that are spread out all over the table. Zayn sighs again as she looks down at them, but her heart stops when she gets a better look.

"What-- Where did they get these?" she asks as she grabs at the nearest one.

"From you!" Liam replies. "These were on the USB you gave me!"

"But--" Zayn's heart is pounding - the pictures before her are not the ones she meant to hand in. They're from the collection she made from the extra (hundred or so) pictures of Niall. Zayn nearly collapses into one of the chairs, dropping the picture and putting her head in her hands as she tries to catch her breath.

"Nick's furious," Liam goes on, "he keeps shouting about how these don't even feature the best parts of his collection and I didn't know what to do because he's out for blood--"

"It's my fault," Zayn interrupts as she lifts her head. "I gave you the wrong one."

"The… wrong…" Liam stares down at the mock-ups and her eyes suddenly widen. "Zayn."

"I know."

" _Zayn_."

" _I know_."

Liam slumps down into the chair next to Zayn and sighs deeply. Zayn can't bring herself to look Liam in the eye - she's not sure how she's ever going to look anyone in the eye again after this fiasco.

"Well, it's not all bad, is it?" Liam says after a few minutes. "We'll just give them the right photos and Nick'll be happy."

"Yeah," Zayn mumbles.

It is that easy, Zayn _knows_ it's that easy. At least it was caught before the issue went to press and the whole _world_ found out about how completely gone Zayn is for Niall. It's embarrassing, but it's an easy fix.

"Maybe we can sneak you out of here, you can run home and get the real pictures, and I can calm Nick down," Liam offers, laying a gentle hand on Zayn's shoulder.

"Yeah," Zayn repeats. "God, I'm an idiot."

"You're not an idiot." Liam smiles. "You do need to sleep more, y'know. You were a bit delirious when I came by the other day."

Zayn mumbles incoherently under her breath, but smiles good-naturedly at Liam as the two stand up and head for the door. Liam goes out first and presses the lift button, keeping an eye on the hallway in case someone comes around and sees Zayn.

On the way back to her flat, Zayn leans her head back against the seat of the cab and closes her eyes. Everything's an absolute mess, and she's got no one to blame but herself. She's a _professional_ , damn it! This sort of thing shouldn't happen.

She just can't help it, though. Even as she's mentally scolding herself, Niall's face appears in her mind and she can't stop from smiling. Christ, she barely even talked to the girl and she's this strung out.

Zayn groans softly and leans forward to put her head between her legs, muttering nonsensically to herself and probably making the driver think she's absolutely mad. If the past week has anything to show for it, it's absolutely possible that Zayn's gone mad.

She's searching for her keys in her enormous bag as she approaches the front door to her building, not realizing there's someone standing there until she almost runs into them head-on.

"Sorry--"

"S'alright," Niall replies as she smiles at Zayn, who's gone white as a sheet. She's frozen stiff and can't make a sound, she can't even close her stupid mouth that's dropped open as she stares at Niall in front of her.

Niall lets out a soft laugh, shifting under Zayn's gaze and her cheeks turn the slightest shade of pink. Zayn finally shakes herself out of the spell and apologizes again, finally digging her keys out of her bag and lifting them up with an awkward laugh.

"How'd you know where I live?"

"Erm, Louis told me?" Niall laughs again and Zayn's hopelessly endeared, though still terribly confused.

"Why did Louis tell you where I live?" she asks as she carefully steps around Niall to unlock the door.

"It's a bit of a long story," Niall says as the door opens and Zayn gestures for her to go in first.

"M'all ears," Zayn replies as she leads Niall to the lift.

"Alright, well, y'see, Nick called Harry in a bit of a state because apparently there's something wrong with the photos?" Zayn winces, but otherwise doesn't interrupt. "And, y'know, since Harry and Louis live together, Louis immediately called me because they thought we'd have to reshoot, but then Nick apparently explained what was wrong as I was answering Louis' call so I had to wait for Louis to stop bloody laughing so much to actually tell me why she'd called!"

"She's like that a lot," Zayn explains haphazardly as they get off the lift, trying not to let her hands shake as she unlocks the door to her flat.

"Yeah, she's a twat," Niall replies with another laugh as she steps through the door, Zayn trailing behind her. "Anyway, erm," she pauses and laughs again, but this time it's far more nervous and Zayn braces herself for what's coming, "Louis told me I should come over here and…"

"And what?" Zayn asks.

"Well, she said I should snog your face off," Niall finishes, and this time when Zayn turns to look at her Niall is bright red and nervously twisting her hair around one finger. "But, if you don't want to, that's fine, I told her she's mad and--"

"Oh my god," Zayn mumbles as she buries her face in her hands. She repeats it over and over, feeling more embarrassed by the second and trying to come up with a million different ways to get Louis back for being such a meddling bitch when Niall's soft voice interrupts her thoughts.

"I shouldn't have come," she says quietly. When Zayn pulls her hands away from her face, she sees that Niall's eyes have dropped to the floor and she's twisting her hair even more urgently now. "I'm so sorry, this is _so_ weird and it's my fault, and--"

"No," Zayn tries to tell her, but Niall's already halfway towards the door.

"I'll just go, I shouldn't have come…"

"Niall, don't go," Zayn says as she quickly catches Niall's arm, "please, don't. This isn't your fault, it's mine."

Niall takes a look at Zayn's hand wrapped around her wrist and then lets out of soft, nervous laugh as she glances at Zayn.

"Reckon we're both in a bit of a mess, yeah?"

"Yeah," Zayn replies with an awkward laugh. "Pretty sure Nick wants my head on a stick outside his house."

"He'd have to get through both Harry and Louis," Niall laughs again, stronger this time, "also your assistant."

"Liam," Zayn supplies, nodding as her eyes drop to where her hand is still grasping Niall's wrist.

"She seemed lovely."

"She is," Zayn agrees. "Liam's the best."

Niall smiles, then bites her lip as she twists her arm around to gently pull it out of Zayn's grasp. She doesn't let Zayn's arm drop, she catches her hand and intertwines their fingers.

"Would you--" she stops, clears her throat softly and starts again with an embarrassed laugh, "could I see the photos?"

"Y-Yeah," Zayn replies, taking a moment to calm her pounding heart before she leads Niall into her studio.

She tugs Liam's chair closer to her desk, motioning for Niall to sit in it and regretfully lets go of Niall's hand so she can sit in her own chair and wake up her computer. Zayn tries not to focus on how badly her hand is shaking as she moves her mouse around, hesitating for a moment before she opens the folder on her desktop.

Zayn peeks at Niall out of the corner of her eye, waiting for her reaction as though Niall's demeanor might suddenly shift and she'll storm out of Zayn's flat and never speak to her again.

She doesn't. Niall barely has any reaction at all apart from staring wide-eyed at the screen as Zayn slowly clicks through the photos. As Zayn keeps going, the small smile on Niall's face gets larger and larger until she's absolutely beaming and Zayn can't contain her own smile any longer.

"They're lovely," Niall says, her voice filled with awe.

"You're lovely," Zayn mumbles, turning her face away from Niall so she won't see how badly she's blushing.

"I'm alright," Niall says with a laugh, more confident than any Zayn's heard in the last fifteen minutes. "But these…" she trails off and shakes her head before she turns to Zayn, scooting her chair closer so she can nudge her arm, "these are incredible."

"Thanks," Zayn replies softly as she meets Niall's eye, both of them smiling at the other. In her mind, Zayn's thinking _this is it_ and she slowly leans forward, praying that Niall will do the same.

They're within a few inches of each other when Zayn's phone suddenly goes off, and they shift back in their chairs. Niall lets out a giggle while Zayn curses under her breath as she pulls her phone out of her pocket. It's Liam, of course, wondering what's taking her so long.

"I've--" Zayn groans as she taps out a quick message to Liam, "shit, I've got to drop off the real photos to the magazine so Nick doesn't lose his fucking mind."

"You'd better do that, then." Niall laughs again and Zayn just sits there, staring at Niall's smile.

"D'you want to, like, come with me?" Zayn asks nervously. "We could grab a bite after, if you want."

"Yeah," Niall says, her face lighting up even more and Zayn doesn't think she'll ever get tired of Niall's smile. "I'd love to."

*

When the lift doors open, Zayn sees Liam pacing back and forth in the hallway and she can't help but let out a giggle.

Liam's head snaps up and she glares at Zayn.

"Don't start w--" Liam's eyes widen when she notices Niall coming out of the elevator alongside Zayn and her jaw drops when she sees them holding hands.

Zayn waits a while before she clears her throat, feeling her cheeks heat up as Niall squeezes her hand and giggles.

"Here are the correct photos," Zayn says as she holds out the USB to Liam. "This should make Nick happy."

"I should hope so," Liam mutters as she takes the USB from Zayn's hand. Zayn nods once and attempts to turn on her heel and tug Niall back towards the elevator but Liam stops her before she can get away.

"Yes?" she asks innocently, ignoring the way Niall stifles another giggle.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Liam's eyes dart to Niall and then back to Zayn. "In private?"

Zayn groans before regretfully letting go of Niall's hand and following Liam into the same conference room as they'd used before.

"When did that happen?" Liam all but shrieks once the door is closed.

"Half an hour ago?" Zayn shrugs. "She was at my flat when I got back, and--"

"She was at your flat?" Liam asks.

"Yeah, and--"

"How'd she know where you live?"

"Louis," Zayn replies flatly. "Now--"

"Has she seen the photos?"

"Yes," Zayn says through gritted teeth. "Liam, if you'd just let me get one sentence out..."

"Sorry," Liam mumbles sheepishly, failing to hide her excited smile. "M'just... happy for you, y'know."

"Thanks." Zayn gives Liam a fond smile.

"Are you going out like that?"

Zayn frowns. "Like what?"

"Like... that." Liam gestures to Zayn's outfit, which is a pair of baggy joggers and a jumper that's definitely seen better days.

"What's wrong with this?"

"Nothing!" Liam says quickly. "Just... y'know."

"Oh my god," Zayn mutters, putting her head in her hands, "Li, I don't need you to assist me with a _date_!"

"It's my job!"

"It certainly is not!" Zayn shrieks. "I definitely don't pay you enough for that."

Liam shrugs. "Just trying to be helpful."

"You're always helpful," Zayn replies with a smile. "But this is definitely one area of my life you don't need to help me with, alright?"

"Alright, alright." Liam huffs. "But you'll tell me how it went tomorrow, right?"

"Of course." Zayn laughs. "Now let me go already."

Liam follows Zayn out of the conference room, saying a quick hello to Niall before she disappears down another corridor and leaves them all alone. Niall smiles widely at Zayn, who smiles back even though she's overwhelmingly embarrassed about this whole mess.

"Ready?" Niall asks as she holds out her hand to Zayn.

"Ready," Zayn replies, taking her hand as they walk back to the lift.

"So where're we going?" Niall asks once they've left the building and are wandering aimlessly down the street.

"Dunno," Zayn answers sheepishly. "D'you want something in particular?"

"M'not picky," Niall says with a grin as she starts swinging their hands back and forth between them. "I'll eat pretty much anything."

Zayn knows she's been hanging around Louis too long when her mind immediately goes to the gutter and she has to turn away from Niall so she won't see how red her cheeks get. It takes a full minute for her to recover enough to suggest a pub down the street, and Niall agrees with a bright smile.

They manage to get a table tucked away in the far corner and Niall wastes no time in hooking her foot around Zayn's ankle, playing a game of footsie as they peruse the menus. Zayn is so entirely flustered that when their waitress comes to take their order, she picks the first thing she sees and hopes that she'll like whatever it is.

Niall, on the other hand, orders a ridiculous amount of food for someone her size and no matter how hard she tries Zayn can't contain the look of shock after Niall's handed her menu over.

"What?" Niall asks, grinning as she leans forward to take Zayn's hands into her own. "I've got a fast metabolism."

"I should think so," Zayn replies, blushing when Niall brings her hand up to her lips and presses a kiss to her knuckles.

Zayn's quiet by nature, but there's something in Niall's smile that makes her feel so safe that she finds herself opening up to her faster than she's ever have before. Niall listens to her stories with rapt attention, her smile never faltering and making Zayn feel warm and fuzzy down to her toes.

She's amazed to see Niall eat every bit of food she's ordered, even going so far as to pinch bits and pieces of Zayn's meal when she's not looking. Zayn doesn't mind because it's worth it to see the impish grin on Niall's face out of the corner of her eye when she thinks Zayn can't see her.

They both decline dessert when their waitress asks, but Zayn has a sneaking feeling that Niall could just as easily gone for some.

"Sure you don't want anything?" she asks. "I don't mind."

"Nah, m'alright." Niall lets out a soft chuckle and leans forward, tugging Zayn's hand close again to press another kiss against her knuckles. "Hungry for something else, if I'm honest."

Zayn blushes deeply, burying her face in her free hand as she laughs while Niall grins. Her heart races as they pay their bill, beating even faster when Niall slips her arm around her waist on their way out the door.

They last about two blocks before Niall stops in her tracks and presses her back against the random building she stopped in front of, pulling Zayn flush against her as their mouths meet. Zayn gasps into Niall's mouth but recovers quickly, reaching up to cup Niall's jaw as they kiss as Niall's grip on her waist tightens with every passing second.

Zayn pulls away sheepishly when a passer-by whistles loudly at them, and Niall whines as she tries to pull Zayn back in.

"Come back here," Niall murmurs as she starts kissing Zayn's neck.

"We're in public," Zayn reminds her gently, biting her lip to prevent another gasp from escaping.

"Don't care," Niall groans, "wanna kiss you."

Zayn whines helplessly as she tilts her head and kisses Niall again, shivering as Niall's fingers trace up and down her torso. She pulls away a minute later and laughs breathlessly as she takes a full step back from Niall.

"C'mon," she says as she holds out her hand to Niall, "before we get arrested for public indecency."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Niall mumbles as she takes Zayn's hand as they start walking down the sidewalk, smiling cheekily when Zayn blushes.

 

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://imlouisaf.tumblr.com)


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